The Green Flash

I am so sad this place closed. It was a GEM in the way to trendy stuck up Pacific Beach. Our family went there every year for New Years Eve dinner. Great steak, seafood, cocktails and always great service. I don’t know where we will go now, PB is just so ughhhhh snobby rich kids supported by their parents. Tear.

If your in PB and want a good place to eat while still being able to see the beach. Green flash is the spot. I highly recommend the calamari for an appetizer. It’s one of the most delicious calamari I’ve had and I’m not really a big fan of it. For my main entrée, I got the seafood omelet because it was Friday during lent season. I really didn’t think I was going to like it but it actually ended up tasting really good. It’s a must try. It’s also a great place to take a date lol mine went real well. On top of the food the customer service was really great as well. Great job green flash

You’re paying for a killer view!
I suggest making a reservation as this place fills up fast and patio seating is limited!
The menu is your typical breakfast menu, nothing to write home about, but you can’t beat the view! The cost isn’t high, but competitive to other local breakfast spots.
The service was great — 5 stars!

I rarely bother to post a poor review, but this place perplexes me. It’s a perfect spot, has been there forever — seems like the food would have to be good.
I went there about a year ago (and it is still on my mind!) There were no available tables on the patio, so we sat inside, which was unpleasant — the décor is «old fashioned» and it was noisy. I had a hard time picking something off the menu because I am a vegetarian and like to eat healthy. What I ended up with wasn’t good, but even more surprising, what my date ordered wasn’t good — very little meat and way too much sauce. And I thought it was expensive!
I’m sure it’s a fabulous place to have drinks and enjoy the view, and the omelets are probably great. It might be worth going in there for that. But if you want good food, there are lots of other great restaurants in PB.

Went here for dinner last night (Saturday). I had never been, my mom had been there once, and the third member of our party has been going there for over 20 years. it wasn’t the greatest experience but I would go back and give it another try.
Ambiance (inside) — 2 stars, a little outdated, there was surge in the light source every 10min or so where everything dimmed and then would light back up– pretty distracting. There was also an odor when we walked in… not fish or food, not bathroom (which is always pleasant lol), more just like a faint old musty smell.
Service– Waitress was very nice, but SLOW. I don’t think it was her fault, I think they were understaffed bc only 50% of the tables were even occupied. It took over 15 min to get our drink order taken, then another 15min to get some water.
Food– 3 – 4 stars. We all got the same thing, the calamari steak. I had fries with mine, they had salads. The meals also came with vegetables.
The calamari steak was VERY good though the batter had gotten soggy in some areas– still amazing. Vegetables were delicious. Fries were OK, the ranch was very good. 2 of my fries were partially frozen on the inside which was kinda yucky. The salads looked very good and I wish I had gotten that as my side instead. The portions sizes were moderate– which I think is a very GOOD thing but others may deem a negative given the prices. Though the portions sizes were moderate (ie small number of fries and veggies) the helping of calamari steak was generous.
Overall a good place and I would try again:)

Mm the coffee is so good. Had a peach mimosa which was ok, didn’t cAre too much for the peach syrup that floated to the bottom of the glass. I would recommend just a regular mimosa. I ordered oysters which were great, very fresh. Asked for some horseradish which the waitress brought out. Ordered fish tacos. They are big and I only was able to eat one. Fish was good. I like the location and sitting outside is great on the boardwalk. Service was a little slow but they were pretty busy as it was a weekend when I visited.

As other reviewers have shared, the menu and food is average — my wife and I were looking for a beachside late lunch spot (2 pm) for people & surf watching. Hostess took our name and shared it would be a 20 minute wait for a table on the patio — not a huge problem even though we saw a couple of 4 top tables open when we walked in.
After waiting for 25 minutes and having 2 parties that had more than 2 people be seated on the patio ahead of us, I was a bit frustrated. It became obvious that they were maximizing their seating capacity on the patio and wouldn’t sit a party of 2 anywhere except a 2 top table. I understand the business rationale behind this to a point, but then when party #3 gets seated ahead of us right as they walk into the place with no wait, you’d think they might re-​consider their stance.
The manager saw that we weren’t thrilled and reassured us they had a table coming available shortly — which it did. What would have been a 2 star review is bumped to a 3 star simply because he had instructed our server (who took great care of us throughout the entire meal) to buy our first round of drinks. Not necessary, but greatly appreciated and showed that he was paying attention — so kudos to him!

Stopped in here for breakfast on a recent trip to Mission Beach. Great location, food was decent, service was meh. Loved their mocha, but it was kind of pricey for the amount. Overall, breakfast for my husband, my daughter and I ended up being about $ 60 before tip. Kind of pricey for what it was. They also forgot the tortillas with my chorizo and eggs and I was almost done with my breakfast by the time she came back, so it was pointless. Not sure I would go back here.

Green Flash is a great beach side meal stop if you’re making your way through Pacific Beach. GF is right along the PB boardwalk just south of Joes Crab Shack and the PB Shore Club. There is indoor as well as outdoor seating. They have the gas warmers outside for temperature sensitive.
Not sure exactly why, but the coffee here just tastes better than most. There a few traditional Mexican dishes like Huevos Rancheros which are pretty good and the omelette options are tasty as well. My personal favorite is the «Seafood Trio» omelette. There also have a solid Bloody Mary. Mimosas come in different flavors, and pending how you feel, you can mix and match.
The service here meets expectations and the location really makes it a cozy spot to grab a drink or a meal with friends. The only reason Flash doesn’t get 5 stars is because the food isn’t Hillcrest brunch spot quality, but it’s pretty close…

Lovely spot to check out the sunset, however when it comes to food, I’d say it’s «alright». I ordered a cheeseburger which came with veggies & fries. It was cook perfectly (medium) and the overall size of the meal was enough to share. Taste wise, it wasn’t anything great. If anything, maybe not enough seasoning?
Anyways, I’d probably come back just for the view. Perhaps try other things on the menu.

My boyfriend and I are regulars here and I’ve been coming here with my family my whole life. Unfortunately, upon my last visit, my boyfriend and I were treated with such disrespect by the rude manager/​owner and the rude waitress that we will not be returning, ever.
We sat outside around 11:30. My boyfriend orders coffee only to find that the little creamers that are kept on the tables are baking in the sun and thus smell bad and does not use them. He politely brings this to the waitress’ attention and asks for cold cream to which she promptly grabs his coffee cup out of his hand, pours the cream into his coffee and proclaims, «See?! If it was bad, it would have curdled!» Then, taken aback by her audacity, he shows her where it says ‘KEEP REFRIGERATED’ on the creamer itself. She then snidely responds by informing us that «the health department doesn’t seem to have a problem with it.»
As I’m watching this, I’m thinking, «ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!»
She returns to our table with a new cup of coffee, but no new cream that has actually been in a refrigerator. I’ve had enough of this and let her know that we are leaving. My boyfriend wants to speak with a manger about the cream and I wait outside. My boyfriend tells me that the owner/​manager treated him with even more disrespect than our server had. The manager decided he was also going to argue about the cream on the table and claimed that because the cream is homogenized that it’s okay it leave dairy products in the hot sun.
The moral of the story is that the customer is always right, even if they’re wrong.

It’s all about the brunch here, people!

Sunday Brunch. Uh… No.
We only came here because the place we wanted to dine at had an hour and 45 minute wait. First of all, the hostess is NOT friendly at all. She looks at you with a blank stare and not even a smile. When we arrived, she told us the wait would be 20 minutes so we sat at the bar and had some bloody marys and mimosas. The bloody mary is premixed and costs $ 5 per glass. It was ok.
We were seated in the outdoor patio area which was nice because it was a beautiful day out. The entire restaurant isnt very big at all. Even their restrooms are single rooms, which in hindsight could be a blessing in disguise. anyway, our waitress was slow to take our beverage order so that was already a bad start. the breakfast menu was pretty standard but the fact that they stop serving certain breakfast dishes after 11AM was super annoying. we’re here for BRUNCH, breakfast items is kind of important. anyway, i ordered the seafood omelete for $ 12 and comes with beans and tortillas or potatoes and bread. i went with beans and corn tortillas. my omelet wasnt bad, it actually had more seafood than i expected and they actually use average sized shrimp instead of the lousy baby shrimps like most places do. everyone else at my table did not find their meals satisfactory.
Our waitress also spilled coffee all over our table while refilling some of our mugs and DID NOT even apologize or try to wipe it off! she just simply walked away. So i would say most of the stars I took away is due to poor service with unfriendly staff. The other star taken away is for not having pancakes at after 11am!

The only thing good about this place is the real estate and the fact that you can sit outside on the boardwalk. Other than that, it’s horrible. Even the so called «great bloody mary’s» were lame.
We came here for breakfast this morning because we wanted to be outside. There appeared to be a few pretty good waitresses, however ours wasn’t one of them. She left us sitting there forever and never took our order.
I won’t even waste time describing the food because it was disgusting. The service was horrible.
Even if I was a tourist, I still wouldn’t come for the view. I’d rather sip vodka from a paper bag on the boardwalk.

1 star for the view, and 0 stars for everything else.
The hostess and waitresses here are rude and mean. We came in on a Saturday morning at 10am and asked to sit outside. Later, a few our friends wanted to join us so we asked the hostess if we could move to a recently vacated outdoor table for 6. She told us we couldn’t sit there because our entire party wasn’t here. When my friends got here and asked for a table for 6, she said we couldn’t sit outside because the tables were reserved… THAT MAKES NO SENSE! No one had been sitting there for at least an hour.
Besides that, I ordered the steak and eggs. I ordered my steak medium. It came out well done, which would normally be fine, but it was so stringy, I could barely cut it with a knife.
I am hopefully never coming back here.

People don’t come here for the food or service, they come here for the outdoor seating for the view and people watching, and the bloody marys.
With that said, service was pretty bad. Our server just left us there for awhile. Took long to order, took long for the bill, took long for a water refill… Food, I got the steak and eggs, the steak was bleh… very plain, no seasoning, I didn’t expect too much though, drenched the steak in A-​1 sauce, definitely tastes better. Food was just okay… nothing special.
Along with the view, and the restaurant being on the beach, the other only good thing was the Bloody Marys. It was pretty decent…

I’m disappointed to see a 3 star rating, when we had an excellent experience for breakfast!
This place has a great location, pristine view, delicious food, fantastic service, and exceptional prices. You can’t expect a white glove ambiance when your in PB people!!! Give this restaurant a 5 star!

Stopped by here for a small breakfast on Thanks Giving day after a nice walk along the beach. I was happy to find a place open.
I had the small stack of pancakes, side order of bacon, and a house drip coffee. The pancaked were good, but a little on the small side. (
) They had good texture and had good flavor. I put some strawberry preserve, butter, and syrup, and made them to my liking. (
) The bacon was good. It was crispy with good flavor, but a tad dry and it missed that chewy goodness. (
) The coffee was great. I was not expecting much from the coffee, but it was smooth and flavorful.
The place on the patio has a great view of the beach. (
) The service was very good and attentive. The small stack was $ 4.75 and the bacon $ 3 and some change.
Good place for a well priced good breakfast with great vistas.

Pretty good bar menu Monday-​Friday (changes daily):
Went on a Thursday:
Chicken Tacos-​$ 2.50– Bigger portion than I expected. Flavorful but a little too greasy for my taste.
Half price on fresh oysters or oysters Rockefeller– Approx. $ 6– Not the freshest but descent.
Wouldn’t mind going back on a Friday for some $ 2.50 Lobster Tacos.
Located right on the beach!

Came here on Christmas day and you would think there was a line out the door according to the flustered hostess. The place was a little crowded and there was a a wait but either it was her first day being a hostess or she is used to it being VERY sloooooowwwww. People with parties of 3 were told there was a wait but a party of 2 seated right away… at a 4 top. Ummmmmm why can’t you seat the party of 3 there since there are FOUR chairs. She didn’t get the concept. Over and over again.
We would have left but my mother in law really likes this place. So when we were finally seated at a table we could have been seated at 20 minutes prior I was actually hungry.
The service inside was lacking. From what I could see by the outside they must put the A game servers there. But it was Christmas so I wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it. The mimosa was good and my food was OK. Nothing really exciting.
I would say that really the only draw would be the view and sitting on the patio.

Huevos rancheros, un clásico tradicional mexicana mediados de comida.
Qué tan buenos recuerdos que tengo de este desayuno casa. Mi barman Juan me tanto como las mujeres bellas que sentaba en su bar. El restaurante tiene una maravillosa vista del Océano Pacífico.
Fui introducida al bellas damas aquí, hablamos y nos reímos. Cuando vuelvo a California, tendré mi periódico, café y huevos rancheros con mi amigo Juan.
Orale pues~